Samsung Already Has A Huge Advantage In The Next Big Thing

If there's one thing we've learned in the smartphone wars, it's
that it's nearly impossible for a mobile operator to be
successful without developers making cool apps for it.

Right now, Apple's iOS and Google's Android are the only two
operating systems with broad support from developers. If you want
the best apps and updates first, you shouldn't use anything else.
That's part of the reason why BlackBerry has bombed and
Microsoft's Windows Phone has struggled to get more than 4% of
the global smartphone market.

Now on to the next big thing, which many believe is wearable
devices like smart watches and fitness trackers. Samsung
announced three new wearables at the Mobile World Congress in
Barcelona this week: The Gear
2 and Gear 2 Neo smart watches and the Gear Fit
fitness band/smart watch. Meanwhile, other companies like LG,
Motorola, HTC, Google, and Apple are all rumored to have smart
watches in the works. Most of those companies are expected to
launch their wearables later this year or early next year.

But while many criticized Samsung for being first to market with
a poorly
received first-generation Galaxy Gear, it's early entrance
into wearables does give it one huge advantage over its rivals:
it can now start courting developers to build apps and services
for its smart watches.

At a Mobile World Congress developers event today, Samsung
announced that it is opening the Gear Fit to developers and
adding new tools to make it easier to build apps for the new Gear
2/Gear 2 Neo smart watches. Assuming developers bite — and
companies like CNN, eBay, Evernote, and about 100 others already
have — Samsung will have the most robust wearable app ecosystem
over any of its competitors.

Samsung isn't alone. Pebble, a hardware startup that makes the
best
smart watch you can buy today, also has an app store, but it
doesn't have as many big-name apps as Samsung will have when its
new wearables launch.

Then there are two big elephants in the room: Google and Apple,
the biggest players in smartphone app ecosystems. Google is
expected to launch a lightweight version of Android for wearable
devices in a few months. Apple's so-called iWatch could launch as
early as this fall. You can bet they'll attract developers too.